The Mavs and the Lakers would go back and forth early on. Then as the game continued, the Lakers would extend a lead attributable to stupid mistakes by the Mavs and championship poise by the Lakers.

Then in the 3rd quarter, after significant halftime adjustments, the Lakers would put the game out of reach.

And it was looking that way for a while. The Lakers went up 16 on a Kobe Bryant 3 pointer after 3 straight turnovers by the Mavs to open the 2nd half.

So if this was the Lakers being Dr. Jekyll, they suddenly turned into Mr. Hyde.

The Mavs, unlikely previous teams, finds a way to bounce back and get within striking distance.

It is important to note that the Lakers did not relinquish the lead until the final moments. You can see the game unfolding with several minutes left that it was going to be one of those games when the Mavs would be close but never get over the hump and retake the lead.

And it surely seemed that way. And then Lakers crumbled in the final moments.
A couple turnovers and a stupid foul does them in.

The Mavs tried not to win the game. Dirk made a free throw that touched every millimeter of rim. But the Mavs’ defense was tough down the stretch and they actually won a game that they normally lose.

As a Laker fan, I could tell in the last few minutes that the Lakers were going to find a way to screw it up. This game should not have been this close.

This game was all about the two big men who came up small for the Lakers. Don’t look at Pau’s stats, look at how he played. He played like a #3 and not a #2. And Bynum was missing shots that he should make.

So are we going to see a Laker team that puts a complete performance together on Wednesday? Based upon previous performances, the answer would be yes.
But if you are the Mavs the pressure is off. They won a game and they are certainly capable of taking a second one. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Mavs come out strong in Game 2.

I’m hoping that big men play with some authority. They should not get pushed around or owned by Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood.

And if the Laker bigs get pushed around by the Mavs, I just may have a meltdown.